You’ve got an idea for an app.  It’s a great idea, but you don’t have the expertise to develop it yourself and you need to hire an app developer.  How do you do it?  Most people start with search engines.  If you do, you’ll get thousands of listings.  You could make a short list and start contacting people.  You could interview them by telephone or e-mail, trying to find a developer who understands your project and has the experience to develop it for you. Or, at least says they understand the project and can do it.  Eventually, after spending way too much time, you might narrow your search down to one developer.  You might get lucky and find someone who knows what they’re doing and can develop your project so that it actually does what you envisioned.  If you’re real lucky, the project will be done quickly and under budget.  That’s if you’re lucky.  If you’re not, you might join the legions of those with great app ideas who paid to train a developer.

We hear stories all the time from people with what we call “shattered projects.”  They spent hours searching the web for the perfect app developer.  The person or company they chose appeared to have the experience to do the work, but as time passed it became clear the developer was learning as the project progressed (or not).  In some cases, the developer finished the project, but it didn’t work like it should.  In other cases, the would-be developer finally gave up, leaving the entrepreneur with some non-functioning code, wasted time, and money down the drain.

Don’t pay to train a developer.  Insist that your prospective app developer have at least one app in the app store.  Look at the apps the prospective developer has deployed.  Do they have the look and feel you want?  Look at the developer’s website.  Is it professional looking?  If not, what makes you think the app work they do will be?  You might pay more for an experienced app developer, but you know the old saying that “you get what you pay for.”  You want to pay for an app that works, not to train someone who may or may not be able to deliver the final product.